About the Book
From the publisher: From the early 1940s, The Gold Rose, a secret rescue agency with Asian origins, has used a unique system to ferret out and save victims in every corner of the world. Charlotte Hunt-Basse, an agent with The Gold Rose, must face numerous challenges to save the lives of two of her assignments-Pinkie and Babe.
Two-year-old Pinkie, discovered abandoned on a dirt road during a violent storm, is whisked off to Mexico by oil heir Clint Sutton and his girlfriend, Angelina. Years later, Pinkie is stolen away to Argentina by an aging Romani. In a bizarre twist, a rogue agent of The Gold Rose returns Pinkie to America, only to sell her to a woman in Los Angeles. When the agency locates Pinkie again, Charlotte must throw all caution to the wind to rescue her.
Babe, the child of Texas missionaries, is hidden by two Chinese families during the Japanese invasion and ensuing Communist takeover in China. She is forced by the second family to live incognito as a “boy” for several years. Martial arts are banned, but the grandfather teaches Babe Yǒng Chūn in deepest secrecy. The civil war escalates, and Babe finds herself on a dangerous quest for survival as she journeys alone through enemy territory toward the faintest hope of rescue.
Betty’s Quick Review
The novel “The Gold Rose” primarily focuses on the individual stories of two endangered young girls, Pinkie and Babe. Pinkie and Babe are both rescue assignments of Charlotte Hunt-Basse, who is an agent for The Gold Rose agency. These two stories take place in the 1940s and are highly detailed, indicating the amount of research that went into this book. Although I found both stories very captivating, I have two issues with the book. First, despite being titled after the agency, The Gold Rose agency is not heavily featured in the book. I would have preferred to learn more about their organization and the details of their rescue operations. Second, I believe that it would have been better if the two stories were split into separate books. This would allow for more detailed endings for each of the girls’ journeys and more insight into The Gold Rose agency and its agents.
Read It Yourself!
Author: Jodi Lea Stewart
Series: The Gold Rose, Standalone novel
Publisher: Progressive Rising Phoenix
Publication Year: 2023
ASIN: 195864031X
ISBN: 9781958640319
